''The Decline and Fall of the Roman Church'' is a 1981 non-fiction book by Catholic priest and author Malachi Martin.

Content

Martin wrote this book to analyse the sudden and rapid decline of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in its ecclesiastical organization and doctrinal unity since the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...

(1962–1965). The book is an account of the history of the Roman Catholic Church progressing from the earliest beginnings and Roman Emperor

Constantine the Great Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to convert to Christianity. Born in Naissus, Dacia Mediterran ...

's relationship with the church during the reign of

Pope Silvester I Pope Sylvester I (also Silvester, 285 – 31 December 335) was the bishop of Rome from 31 January 314 until his death. He filled the see of Rome at an important era in the history of the Western Church, yet very little is known of him. The acco ...

up through the post Vatican II popes and

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

. Martin shows the transformations that took place in the institution of the

papacy The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

as the relationship between temporal power and spiritual authority was worked out throughout the years. Martin tells how the early popes were chosen, including how many were appointed by secular rulers until the invention of the

conclave A papal conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a bishop of Rome, also known as the pope. Catholics consider the pope to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and the earthly head of the Catholic Church. Co ...

. The last two chapters of the book—concerning popes

Pius XII Pius ( , ) Latin for "pious", is a masculine given name. Its feminine form is Pia. It may refer to: People Popes * Pope Pius (disambiguation) * Antipope Pius XIII (1918-2009), who led the breakaway True Catholic Church sect Given name * Pius ...

and

John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

—give background information on recent papal history from Martin's perspective. The Pius XII chapter contains information on both the pope's encounter with Marxism and his visionary life. Martin, was a protégé to Pius' confidant and confessor, cardinal Augustine Bea, who was the source for this information. The book was translated into Spanish, French and German.

Reception

Reviews of the book noted its controversial character. '' Kirkus Reviews'' called it a "Vivid, impressionistic, chimerical history of the papacy" and concluded that it was "Lively stuff, certainly, but rife with distortions." Christopher Small of the ''

Glasgow Herald ''The Herald'' is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. ''The Herald'' is the longest running national newspaper in the world and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The title was simplified from ''The Glasgow Herald'' in ...

'' characterized it as a "highly dramatised, not to say sensational, tour through the history of the papacy", the author's main purpose being to depict what he sees as the church's long and problematic association with state power.Christopher Small
"Against Idolatry in Church and State
, '' The Herald'' (Glasgow), February 29, 1982. On the other hand, ''

National Catholic Reporter The ''National Catholic Reporter'' (''NCR'') is a progressive national newspaper in the United States that reports on issues related to the Catholic Church. Based in Kansas City, Missouri, ''NCR'' was founded by Robert Hoyt in 1964. Hoyt want ...

'' journalist

Peter Hebblethwaite Peter Hebblethwaite (30 September 1930 – 18 December 1994) was a British Jesuit priest and writer. After leaving the priesthood, he became an editor, journalist (' Vaticanologist') and biographer. Life Hebblethwaite was born in Ashton-unde ...

found parts of the book to be "incoherent" and "dogmatic" and wrote that Martin "seems to be making it all up".

References

* Martin, Malachi, ''The Decline and Fall of the Roman Church'',

G. P. Putnam's Sons G. P. Putnam's Sons is an American book publisher based in New York City, New York. Since 1996, it has been an imprint of the Penguin Group. History The company began as Wiley & Putnam with the 1838 partnership between George Palmer Putnam and J ...

, New York, 1981, 1981 non-fiction books Books about Catholicism Books by Malachi Martin History books about Catholicism G. P. Putnam's Sons books {{RC-book-stub